Baseball Betting Guide
Summer is all about baseball, and betting on baseball can make the season much more exciting. With 2,430 regular season games to bet on, baseball offers lots of opportunities to win. Learn the ins and outs of baseball betting, from MLB run lines to common baseball betting mistakes, so you can successfully bet on MLB games with different online sportsbooks.
BASEBALL BETTING TYPES
Moneylines
In baseball, betting on the moneyline is simply betting on who will win the game. For example if the moneyline has St. Louis at +150 and Cincinnati at -170, Cincinnati is the favored team and you would need to bet $170 just to win $100. If you place a $100 bet on St. Louis and they pull off a win, you would win $150.
Betting on an underdog can provide significant winnings if they manage to pull off an upset. With so many regular season games, it’s important to be aware of how teams are trending and equally, to pay attention to who is playing from each team, particularly the starting pitcher. Look for innings pitched, walks plus hits per innings pitched, earned run average, and wins above replacement player stats for starting pitchers to help decide which team to bet on.
Run Lines
A baseball run line is a point spread or handicap bet. Bets are based on a 1.5 point spread. So if Houston is at +1.5 runs at odds of +140 and Chicago is at -1.5 runs -110, a $110 bet on Chicago would be required to win $100 if they win by 1.5 or more runs. It would cost $71.43 to win $100 on a bet that Houston would not lose by more than one run.
Run lines can often have very different odds than moneyline bets, as winning the bet requires meeting a 1.5 point threshold in addition to winning the game, and losing the game could still result in a winning bet if the team doesn’t lose by more than the spread.
Totals
Baseball totals are bets based on the total number of runs scored in a game. You bet on whether the total runs will be over or under a number set by oddsmakers. If the over/under for Seattle and Philadelphia is 8, you’ll need at least 9 runs scored to win the over and a max of 7 runs scored to win the under. If the final score is 4-5, for a total of 9 runs and you bet on over, you’d win the bet.
Baseball totals are often set at a number like 8.5. This means that the total runs would either need to be 8 or less to win the under, or 9 or more to win the over. This helps avoid situations where the final runs equal the total (called a “push”). Since this is neither over nor under, the bet amount is refunded. Placing a baseball total bet with a whole number means that occasionally, there will be no winners or losers.
Parlays
A parlay bet is placing a bet on multiple outcomes to occur and requires all outcomes to be selected correctly to win. For example, if you parlay $100 on New York and Los Angeles, you’ll need both teams to take the W to win the parlay bet. Given that you need to be correct on each outcome in the entire bet, parlays are a riskier baseball betting type, but offer greater rewards.
Futures
Think Boston is going to win the World Series? You can place a futures bet on it! If the odds are +500 right now and you bet $100, Boston winning the World Series would win you $500. Futures are offered well in advance of any season and are continually adjusted as it unfolds.
Prop Bets
Prop bets are additional bets that can be related to specific outcomes in a game (game props) or player performance (player props). Will Atlanta hit a home run against Pittsburgh? You can bet on that. Think Atlanta will break a .600 winning percentage this season? You can put money on that as well. Widely considered to be fun bets, prop bets are typically available for just about anything related to the game.
Live/In-Game Betting
The ability to bet on a game as it is happening. The odds are dynamic and will update over the course of the game, based on the real action taking place. After the third inning, San Diego is up 4 runs versus Colorado. Put your money on them to win and reap the rewards.
BASEBALL BETTING MISTAKES
Not Knowing the Players Playing
The lineup playing in a baseball game can have a big impact, especially the starting pitchers. Even if Toronto has a 10-5 record, if they aren’t starting with their star pitcher in a game versus 4-11 Miami, you’ll definitely want to consider that when placing your bets.
Betting on Favorites Too Often
Unlike other sports, the gap between the worst and the best teams in baseball is often smaller. Across the 162 games in a season, the best teams often lose more than a third of all games. Betting on the favorites too often can lead to losses when they are inevitably upset by underdogs from time to time.
Mismanaging your Bankroll
Before placing your first bet, set aside a sum of money to be used as your bankroll. The fastest way to losing that bankroll is mismanaging it. Don’t chase losses (bet more than you normally would) to make up for one loss. Don’t get greedy if you go on a winning streak.